Kilmahew Castle is a ruined castle located just north of

Cardross Cardross () is a large village with a population of 2,194 (2011) in Scotland, on the north side of the Firth of Clyde, situated halfway between Dumbarton and Helensburgh. Cardross is in the historic geographical county of Dunbartonshire but th ...

, in the council area of

Argyll and Bute Argyll and Bute (; , ) is one of 32 unitary authority, unitary council areas of Scotland, council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod ...

, Scotland. The castle is close by the ruins of St. Peter's Seminary. Also close by is

Kilmahew Burn Kilmahew Burn is a small river, burn, that runs from the Kilmahew estate, Cardross, Argyll and Bute into the Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde, is the estuary of the River Clyde, on the west coast of Scotland. The Firth has some of the dee ...

. Kilmahew is named after its patron saint,

Mochta Saint Mochta (or Mochtae, Mahew, Mochteus, Maucteus, Mauchteus; died 20 August 535, or A.D. 537), was the last surviving disciple of Saint Patrick. Life Mochta was, like Patrick, a native of Britain. His name is British, and Adomnán's ''Life ...

(Mahew).

History

Kilmahew castle was built upon the lands granted to the Napiers by Malcolm, the Earl of Lennox around the year 1290. The castle itself was built sometime in the 16th century by the Napier family, who owned it for 18 generations. The Napiers who owned Kilmahew are notable for being the progenitors of members who had notable contributions in the field of engineering, such as Robert Napier, the "Father of Clyde Shipbuilding," and

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

, James and Montague Napier, who owned the engineering company of

Napier & Son D. Napier & Son Limited was a British engineering company best known for its luxury motor cars in the Edwardian era and for its aero engines throughout the early to mid-20th century. Napier was founded as a precision engineering company in 1 ...

. The estate was inherited by George

Maxwell Maxwell may refer to: People * Maxwell (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name ** James Clerk Maxwell, mathematician and physicist * Justice Maxwell (disambiguation) * Maxwell baronets, in the Baronetage of N ...

of Newark and Tealing (1678–1744) in 1694, when he assumed the name of his maternal grandfather, John Napier of Kilmahew, but having no legitimate children he was the last of the name, although the Napier of Kilmahew coat of arms survives as a quartering of those of Noble of Ardmore, who therefore now represent the family in

heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...

. Following his death the estate was successfully claimed by an illegitimate daughter, Jean Smith, who married David Brydie, and was finally sold to Alexander Sharp in 1820 in repayment of gambling debts. In 1839, the estate was acquired by James Burns of Bloomhill (a neighbouring estate), the son of Rev. Dr. John Burns, eventually dying in the Castle in 1871. The ruins were acquired by the

Archdiocese of Glasgow The Archdiocese of Glasgow was one of the thirteen (after 1633 fourteen) dioceses of the Scottish church. It was the second largest diocese in the Kingdom of Scotland, including Clydesdale, Teviotdale, parts of Tweeddale, Liddesdale, Annan ...

, along with the surrounding estate, in 1948. In 2020, Kilmahew Castle was acquired by The Kilmahew Education Trust as part of the Kilmahew Estate which also includes St. Peter's Seminary and John Fleming's Walled Gardens.

Design

The castle was originally a four-storey 16th century

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, to command and defend strategic points ...

. Modifications made in 1744 are attributed to the architect John Douglas. Some obvious gothic modifications were done during the 19th century by Alexander Sharp, who owned the castle at the time.

References

External links

Kilmahew Education Trust website

* ttp://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/42346/details/kilmahew+castle/ Kilmahew Castle (RCAHMS)* {{Historic Environment Scotland, num=SM5404, desc=Kilmahew Castle Scheduled monuments in Argyll and Bute Clan Napier Ruined castles in Argyll and Bute